Hi ,
It looks like you're using an ad blocker.



The revenue generated from the adverts on the site is a critical part of our funding - and it's because of these ads that I can offer the site for free. But using the site for free AND blocking the ads doesn't feel like a great thing to do, which is why this box is so large and inconvenient. Some sites will completely block your access, but I'm not doing that - I'm appealing to your good nature instead. Did you know that you can allow ads for specific sites, whilst still blocking them on others?

Thanks,
Ian Williams aka Fetch
or for an ad-free Fetcheveryone experience!

20 minutes off my 10k PB, how do I take off another 15?

5 watchers
May 2013
1:06pm, 29 May 2013
64 posts
  • Quote
  • Pin
Moleshome
After a lifetime of being a non-runner I spent 5 years of running on and off leading to the BUPA London 10k and a time of 01:18:03 in 2012. I decided then that 2013 was going to be a better year and I'd train a bit more consistently.

I signed up for this year's Wokingham half marathon and followed the RW Smartcoach training plan towards a sub 2hr half, all was going well until the week before the race I went down with a bad case of flu and was still flat on my back in bed the day of the race. I signed up for Fleet half which was a few weeks later and promptly went down with a chest infection so that by the time I ran Fleet I'd had a whole month with no running. I didn't manage to break the 2 hrs but still managed 2:08:33 which under the circumstances I was relatively pleased with.

Then came this Monday and the 2013 BUPA 10K, following the half I hadn't really trained for BUPA, just been doing low heart rate stuff mostly, since I was expecting to be doing a gentle jog round with a friend. Due to him and his wife having a new baby he pulled out so I was back to trying to see what time I could get. I knew I could go under the hour so I joined up with some of the other Fetchies with the aim of taking 20 minutes off last year's time and a stretch target of 55 minutes. All was going well until I started getting a touch of cramp at 6k and had to back off a little but I still made it round in 00:56:26.

Now, the point of all that spouting was that in the run up to the half marathon I'd been to Bath Uni for a fitness test to try and find out what pace I should be targetting. One of the things that came out of it was that I have a VO2max of 52 which apparently is quite good for an old duffer like me. Looking at some of the race predictors available leads me to believe that, based on my VO2max, my current 10k PB is nowhere near my potential and I could be aiming for closer to 40 minutes. The question is, how do I get there?
May 2013
1:14pm, 29 May 2013
74 posts
  • Quote
  • Pin
thuginasuit
Buy some roller skates? Big ask otherwise.
May 2013
1:18pm, 29 May 2013
2,355 posts
  • Quote
  • Pin
SusiesueH
sorry I can't help with how you get your time down further but I wanted to say well done on what you've done so far. 1hr 18 down to 56 mins is seriously impressive!
May 2013
1:18pm, 29 May 2013
227 posts
  • Quote
  • Pin
Aitken&TaitsDad
You've answered the question yourself - train for it, find yourself a training plan and do it in steps - I would suggest you look for a 10k in about 10 weeks time and a training plan for a sub 50min run - then work to it. Once you've broken 50mins work down to sub 48 etc - might take a wee while but at least you'll see progress. Good luck
May 2013
1:20pm, 29 May 2013
2,829 posts
  • Quote
  • Pin
Garfield
Join a running club...real live one, that is. You'll be able to get advice and run with people who will help to push you further and faster. You've done some great running there!:)
May 2013
1:21pm, 29 May 2013
3,330 posts
  • Quote
  • Pin
HermanBloom
I didn't realise your half times were so similar to mine. As that's the case, just keep on those long runs as if you are doing a Half, and then maybe do some intervals and/or hill work to help with the 10km speed? It certainly seems to have done the trick for me anyway.
May 2013
1:27pm, 29 May 2013
4,589 posts
  • Quote
  • Pin
rf_fozzy
Difficult to say without analysing your training in detail - there are probably quite a few things you could do, if you wanted to train solely and intensively for optimising your performance to run your best possible time for 10k.

The obvious thing to ask is whether you are doing interval and repetition training? When I started running properly, these made a big difference to my aerobic ability to sustain efforts, as did fast paced runs (tempo) over about an hour, running with faster people from my club.

You should also be aware that your 40min time is only theoretical as well - there are many factors which may mean you exceed this or fall short, but I can almost guarantee you won't jump immediately from 55mins to 40mins (excepting if you go away and train for a year without racing, but that's difficult because you won't have feedback to inform your training).

Big improvement is possible - I went from not being a runner per se (but did play hockey and do other sports) and running a 10k in 46min to running sub-38min in just over 3 years - firstly taking big chunks of time off and then in smaller and smaller increments. I still think I can run 35.xx, but lack the motivation and dedication at the moment to make that sort of leap in my training to get there.
May 2013
1:48pm, 29 May 2013
1,486 posts
  • Quote
  • Pin
Lisa T
In my experience, to get your target times at key distances, you need to specifically focus your time towards the distance. I did this for all my recent PBs. You've also got to really want it & believe you can get it! I don't believe achieving targets is rocket science, it's just self belief & targeted training. I have achieved all of my PBs on only 3 runs a week including tempo runs. Hills are good for you as well, so if you don't already live somewhere hilly - move! ;-)
May 2013
2:16pm, 29 May 2013
65 posts
  • Quote
  • Pin
Moleshome
Thanks for all the kind words. I realise I've already come a long way and that the 40 minute target is purely theoretical. I'm fairly sure that if I dedicated my life to achieving it as a full time objective then I'd get closer to it than having to fit training round work and family commitments but it does give me something to aim for. I also don't expect to get there in time for BUPA next year, I realise it's a long term objective.

The problem with clubs, and one of the reasons I joined Fetch, was that I work away from home mid week and club sessions don't align too well, if at all.

Prep for the half consisted of Tues & Fri easy runs, Thu alternating between interval and tempo runs, Sun long runs up to 25k and an extra easy run on Wed as the plan progressed.

It seemed to work fairly well, the only thing that has put me off doing the same again was a comment from Bath that I'd see most improvement from low heart rate work. I'd been toying with the idea of spending an extended period of time doing nothing but LHR although I'm concerned that 6 months down the line I find that I'm thinking about signing up for an ultra but I'm struggling to do a 5k in 30 minutes.

The more I think about it the more inclined I am to just update the training plan I was on and lather, rinse, repeat.
May 2013
8:49pm, 29 May 2013
1,487 posts
  • Quote
  • Pin
Lisa T
Don't fix what aint broke eh! Simple is the best. You've already had good improvements with what you're doing, so no need to change too much, just speed up dem tempos! Good luck :-)

About This Thread

Maintained by Molesy
After a lifetime of being a non-runner I spent 5 years of running on and off leading to the BUPA Lon...
  • Show full description...

Related Threads

  • 10k
  • events
  • goals

Report This Content

You can report any content you believe to be unsafe. Please let me know why you believe this content is unsafe by choosing a category below.



Thank you for your report. The content will be assessed as soon as possible.










Back To Top

Tag A User

To tag a user, start typing their name here:
X

Free training & racing tools for runners, cyclists, swimmers & walkers.

Fetcheveryone lets you analyse your training, find races, plot routes, chat in our forum, get advice, play games - and more! Nothing is behind a paywall, and it'll stay that way thanks to our awesome community!
Get Started
Click here to join 114,467 Fetchies!
Already a Fetchie? Sign in here